Describes all aspects of the 1997 census program, from its early stages of planning through data collection and processing, publication, and dissemination of the final results. The history covers the censuses of retail trade; wholesale trade; service industries; transportation, communications, and utilities; finance, insurance, and real estate; construction industries; manufactures and mineral industries; surveys of women-owned businesses, of minority-owned business enterprises, and of characteristics of business owners; and an enterprise statistics program. The report covers the United States; Puerto Rico; and outlying areas, including Guam, the Vllgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.